(Newswire.net — June 4, 2018) — With summertime quickly approaching, families want to enjoy the great outdoors. Nothing is better than sitting outside on a summer night and enjoying a meal, but if you have to go inside to the kitchen every time that someone needs something, or spend all your time indoors cooking, you will miss out on time with your family.
Once the weather outside heats up, you won’t want to heat up the oven or stove and make the temperature in your house uncomfortable, either. So, why not build an outdoor kitchen where you can spend your evenings gathering together, cooking and enjoying the great outdoors?
Designing an outdoor kitchen takes a bit more imagination and planning than and indoor kitchen does. You want to have all the basic essentials, but not go overboard. To make your outdoor kitchen as kitchen-friendly as your inside kitchen without spending a fortune or taking up a whole lot of space, below are five things to think about to help you plan the perfect happy medium.
1. It is all about the layout
Most likely you are going to have a specific area to place the kitchen, and it might be small. You don’t want to take up your whole backyard, so a compact design is going to be the key. You will need all the same appliances, minus a dishwasher, but you can find smaller ones that don’t take up much space.
To get the layout of your outdoor kitchen right, consider what is most important to your outdoor kitchen, make it the cornerstone and build around it. You will also have to be wary of what type of material you use to create the foundation for your outdoor space, and consider things like small children being around, and whether or not elements will pose a hazard.
2. Placement
When designing your kitchen, you are going to want to think about its location. Having access to the indoors is going to be key. No matter how much planning you do, you will still have to make runs inside.
You will also want to choose a place that has good ventilation and shade. No one wants to cook when the sun is beating down on them. Other considerations you have to think about are the location of the grill, potential fire hazards and where the children are going to be playing.
Don’t put the kitchen smack dab in the middle of everything, or it will become an albatross that you can’t move.
3. Necessary features
There are going to be things that would be nice to have, and then there are going to be essential appliances. You will need to have a stove, refrigerator, and sink. Determining the size of the appliances, the high-end nature of them and other things you would like to add, like a warming drawer or a microwave, are all extras.
Don’t go overboard when it comes to the kitchen outside. Focus on the basics, and get the sizes right, so that you don’t end up kicking yourself later for poor planning. You can always add bonus features later on.
4. Prep area
One of the biggest problems with an outdoor kitchen can be the limitation of space. Don’t skimp on the size of your countertop or prep area, or you are going to find yourself without any room and constantly shuffling things around to make space.
Put enough prep workspace next to the sink and the stove so that you have a surface to lay things on and get things done.
5. Design
Sure, it is functional, but an outdoor kitchen is also supposed to be unique and out of the ordinary. You will want to put a little touch of whimsical, outdoorsy, or whatever other styles you want it to have.
An outdoor kitchen is supposed to be your escape from the every day, not an extension of it. Put a little bit of you into the kitchen, and have some fun so that when you are cooking outdoors, you have more enjoyment.
An outdoor kitchen is a perfect way to enjoy the great outdoors and give your indoor kitchen a break on a hot summer night. Make sure to plan well, have some fun and put the right accessories and appliances in your outdoor kitchen so that it is self-sufficient, but, try not to go overboard. It isn’t a full-size kitchen; it is just supposed to give you the tools to put a good meal on the table to enjoy time together. Do it in style this summer.